Retired public affairs officer put spotlight on others

Published: Saturday, July 6, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 6, 2013 at 1:05 a.m.

Even as she was stepping off into retirement, Lucy Crockett found it discomforting to be talking about herself.

Facts

About Lucy Crockett

Age: I'm proud of my age, but I don't discuss it often because it creates artificial barriers, especially for women. So, to quote my dad, let's say I'm “old enough to know better.”Hometown and high school: Born in southwest Virginia, later moved to Durham, where I attended Durham High School.College and major: Duke University; English literaturePrior job of interest: I've spent my career in local government, primarily in police departments, where my real commitment lies.How long with WPD: 6.5 years – I moved to Wilmington for the opportunity to work there. What do you do for lunch on workdays? I live within two miles of work, so it's relaxing (and cheap) to drive home for lunch. I also enjoy going out for lunch with friends from work once or twice a week.How do you get an afternoon power boost? A jolt of caffeine never hurts.What do you do for dinner on workdays? I have a couple of favorite restaurants for carry-out, but usually I make something fairly healthy at home. I like to cook if I'm not stressed.How do you keep in touch with news happenings daily? News is part of my job, so in addition to the morning paper at home, I monitor news sites on the Internet off and on all day.Latest book you've enjoyed: I read for escape, so I read a lot of mysteries.Favorite type of music: I alternate between classical and country.Favorite sports team: In summer it's the Detroit Tigers, in winter the Washington Redskins and ACC basketball.Favorite place to relax: I love to travel, but I'm also pretty contented walking on the beach or sitting on my own back porch.

"I am usually putting the spotlight on others," said Crockett, who retired June 27 after decades as a public affairs officer and champion of good government service – the past six years with the Wilmington Police Department.

She had handled public affairs previously for city governments in Virginia and Florida, including police departments. But in remembering those times, the spotlight quite naturally shifted from her to her parents – Alex and Becky Crockett, now in their mid-80s, living in Durham, and both of whom were professionals on the other side of the keyboard.

"They were newspaper people," Crockett said. "They started off in southwest Virginia where I grew up. Mom worked for a Saltville paper, Dad was a correspondent for the Roanoke Times. On Sundays my parents would take me and my two brothers for drives in the car and at an intersection on the back roads, at a stop sign, we got to pick which way to go.

"Except if a fire engine would fly past in one direction, we would always peel off and follow it, to see what was up. I kinda liked that."

They soon moved to Durham, where Alex had a long career as a sportswriter and later was a manager for the Herald-Sun and Becky wrote for what was then the society pages. Young Lucy went to Duke and majored in English literature, something that helped her over the years as she communicated with the public.

"Actually," Crockett said, "mastering the language is something you can use in just about any profession."

Today's government spokespeople also have to be master jugglers as the Internet has created a continuous news cycle demanding the latest information and updates. Back in her parents' day, newspapers used to be put to bed around 11:30 at night and TV stations signed off a few hours later with the national anthem.

"Now TV stations and newspapers are staffed all day long to constantly get news onto their websites," Crockett said. "Six years ago, just after I got here, we had a major development at 11:10 at night and nobody even showed up for it. That would never happen now.

"And with the social media, like Twitter and Facebook, we have citizen reporters and bloggers reporting on events – some good, and some not so much. Others use cellphones to take photos that sometimes are accurate depictions of what's happened, but others warp what has happened.

"So you do spend time chasing around to get things right."

One of her proudest career moments was helping to develop realistic hiring practices for women seeking employment in law enforcement. In Virginia, working for the city of Alexandria back in the late 1970s, she was tasked with knocking down artificial barriers that often kept female applicants on the sidelines.

"They had obstacles like a certain height requirement based on the distance from the seat to the gas pedal in a police car that shorter people couldn't meet," remembers Crockett. "Or unreasonable upper body strength tests. Or questions that only women were asked during an interview, like ‘How do you plan to take care of your kids?'

"My job wasn't just hiring women for the sake of it. The program we put in place accurately and appropriately determined what it took for them to do the job. I'm very proud of that."

Crockett's also proud that her retirement now sets aside time to give back to her parents by visiting with them up the road in Durham, while she also can enjoy the nearby beaches in her adopted hometown.

"Oh, I'm staying here," she said. "I like it here. I have my house. And my nice back porch.

"But you never want to stop learning or doing. I think I might volunteer with the Red Cross in public affairs. You know, as they have a disaster or special events or needs, I could help get the word out about everything they're doing."

There goes that spotlight again.

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